Keep On Truckin'

Last Thursday (I apologize that it's taken me so long to update this), I talked about how I had been taking all of these little classes over how to do seemingly-simple things to enhance the learning experience for CCS students.

I've really enjoyed doing this. Sincerely. I love it any time I can improve as a person. It would be easy for me to just relax all summer, but while my schedule is pretty simple with the mini-classes and the tutoring that I do (okay, along with karate), it's really pretty relaxed compared to the school year. I go a little crazy whenever I'm not trying to learn something myself. In fact, just today I was at Home Depot and saw that this weekend there is a class on how to install a ceiling fan. I'm taking it. And I will probably buy another ceiling fan when it's over, just so I can put one in my office all by myself.

This is the same reason I started taking karate. Part of the reason I did it was so that I would remember what it was like to be a student of something. I thought (rightfully so) that it would help me out as a teacher. There have been MANY times that I wish I could treat my classroom exactly as if it were my dojo, and could just hand out push-ups to the kids when they do something wrong.

More importantly, though, it taught me how to approach math and reading from underneath. How to get under the kids and push them up, because that it so much better than reaching down and trying to pull them up. Trust me. I've learned this from my senseis (the teachers who teach me) approach teaching. I have tried my best to take this and apply it to how I teach what I teach. In my never-to-be-humble opinion, I'm good at this with Social Studies. But I think I'm improving on this with reading and math. It's always a learning process. Even for a teacher.

I received an e-mail earlier today from Divy, who was in my math class. I never knew him to be an artist. But it seems he's been trying to improve himself by becoming an artist. (Most mathematical brains aren't known as being particularly artistic.) Here's the picture he sent me.

I think this is brilliant. I had never known him to be artistic, but he has shown a lot of improvement with the muscles, the ripped clothes, and the angry expression on the face. He is expanding his horizons.

I've heard from the Niemiecs and the Hurdles that they are planning on choosing things to do things as a family to improve themselves (see the Ted Talks post from last week...). I love this. I've been taking a picture every day. Some are better than others, but that's not the point.

But while we're posting pictures, I'm going to post one of me and my niece, who is three years old and has been working at improving herself as a dancer (and, unintentionally, at being incredibly cute). This was taken last Friday, after her very first ballet recital...


So if she is trying to improve herself in this way, I think you all should too!

Every time I am driving down the road and I see someone out their running, obviously trying to lose weight, I think that is awesome. Any time I see someone come into the dojo for the first time, I am inspired. Any time I'm visiting my parents and see how much they're working to improve their health, it shakes me to take attention of my own wellness.

Needless to say, I am constantly inspired to become a better person by not only my students, but also--equivicolly- the people around me.

Never stop learning. Always keep reading, listening, and improving.